do it yourself or use a tannery
 

just wondering what the majority of you do, do you tan hides adn skins yourself or do you send them off? what are teh advantages/disadvantages to either?

RE: do it yourself or use a tannery
 

I've tanned a couple of muskrats and a fox with Protan. Minnesota trapline Products and The Snareshop both carry it. Pretty simple, turns out a good tan, and is a chrome tan so it won't wash out. Thin skinned animals like those are not too bad. I expect thicker skinned animals would be entail alot more work to break the leather. Doing it yourself saves a couple of bucks, gives you the pleasure of having done it yourself and takes a bunch of time. Sending it out has the advantages of a pro doing it (if you choose the right tannery) and save you time, but costs more.

RE: do it yourself or use a tannery
 

Depends on what you want. For deer I usually do it myself, but with the right tannery you get a better quality tan. For wall hangers and rugs, tannery. If I wanted to take in more work then tannery for all, but i like being small.